


A Good Day for Hashida Suzuha

by Sirhorsealot



Category: Steins;Gate
Genre: Confusion, Gen, Hide and Seek, Imaginary Friends, Other, it's 2 am and i'm tired, mild paranoia, more freeform, you guys have beta readers?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24786457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirhorsealot/pseuds/Sirhorsealot
Summary: Suzuha has had these imaginary friends for as long as she could remember. To her family, they're nothing more than a child's fantasy. But Alpha, Beta and Delta are real to her.
Relationships: Amane Yuki/Hashida Itaru, Okabe Rintarou | Hououin Kyouma/Makise Kurisu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	A Good Day for Hashida Suzuha

It was a good day for Hashida Suzuha. Alpha, Beta and Delta were all getting along for once, the sun was out and Alpha's promise of teaching her to ride a bike had gotten her all excited. All in all, it'd been really nice. The only thing that dragged it down a bit were Alpha, Beta and Delta themselves.

They'd been Suzuha's imaginary friends for as long as she could remember. She and Delta got along like sisters when she was a bit younger, Beta was much more like a third parent or older sister, and Alpha was the comfortable middle, and mediator, between the two. But they were still imaginary. Suzuha's mom and dad had known about them for a few years now, Suzuha always pretty quick to tattle on them, especially if they made her upset.

Her mom and dad seemed not to see the three girls, nor acknowledge their existence beyond poorly-acted scenes meant to indulge Suzuha's whims. The three girls, who looked like identical twins, weren't imaginary in Suzuha's mind - they just couldn't be seen by anybody else. That was what Suzuha knew, at least she _thought_ she knew, until Uncle Okarin had done something weird.

He saw Suzuha conversing with the three, the young girl parroting back some of the strange vocabulary that Alpha tended to use as they spoke. There were also terms used by Beta mixed in, which she said were military words, but she never did tell Suzuha what any of them meant. Fubar sounded like a candy bar brand to her. Uncle Okarin had been there for this, a look crossing his face that Suzuha had never seen on him before.

It seemed to really upset Aunt Mayushii and Aunt Kurisu that he made that face, but Suzuha seemed to be the only one who could see his gaze wander beyond her and fall onto _them_. Delta of course called it "Sort of creepy!" and shuddered, but Beta and Alpha just glanced at each other. Suzuha didn't think she'd seen the two look so serious before.

So now, she wasn't really sure how she felt about them. They'd sometimes cause trouble, especially Delta, but she didn't feel angry or sad. This feeling... it was more like... fear, she supposed. Something was off, _wrong_ , and she didn't know what to do about it.

But she didn't even get the time to think about it as Delta initiated a game of hide and seek with herself as the seeker. They all knew that Beta and Alpha were too good at seeking for the game to last long, after all. Suzuha ran around the yard to find a hiding spot, Delta's loud counting making her panic as the numbers spoken got smaller. Then, she heard something.

"Psst! Hashida Suzuha, up here!" Suzuha looked up, and nestled in a tree was Alpha, outstretching her hand to the younger girl. "We can hide together." She wore a mischievous smile. Suzuha grabbed ahold and allowed her small body to be carried up. Alpha and Beta really were strong, that much she knew. They didn't seem to like showing it off too much around her, though. Suzuha really didn't know why. Being strong was cool.

She was pulled up past the leaves, finding herself clutching onto Alpha's neck like a little monkey as they went higher and higher. Finally Alpha stopped, the two surrounded by thick green clouds. She peeked into a gap.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Delta's call echoed across the backyard, but Suzuha could hear the adults still talking inside. They didn't seem to care about the ruckus. Delta dashed around, paying no mind to the dirt as she scoured every hiding spot she could think to look at. The pristine white parts of her dress not getting dirty were like magic, something Suzuha would want to remember to ask her about after this.

Beta was found surprisingly quickly. Delta suddenly cheered "Found you!" to which Beta only sighed, mumbling something about how there were hardly any good places to hide. Suzuha smiled to Alpha, giggles slipping past her lips. Alpha smiled back, but silently put a finger to her lips. The younger girl nodded, trying to get a better view of the two on the ground. They looked around the yard, Beta sometimes asking if Delta had looked in one spot or another, their usual arguing filtering in as they went.

Beta moved over to the tree Alpha and Suzuha were in, her amber eyes narrowing as they inspected the base. She just as quickly moved away, an action that Suzuha couldn't help but giggle helplessly at. Even when Alpha put her hand over her mouth, Suzuha couldn't stop the laughter.

Beta, the ultimate seeker, walking right past them without realizing it? It was too funny for Suzuha _not_ to laugh about. She'd need to rub that in later! Sadly, all the noise caused Beta to come back, prompting her to peer at the not-too-hidden duo in the tree and shake her head.

"I found you two," she announced, the lightest smile on her face. Delta gasped from behind her and ran over, hoisting up the large skirt of her dress as she came. It was very much like how princesses with their big dresses ran, except that Delta looked far from a princess.

"They were up there?!" Delta gawked at them from below, her eyes darting about as if trying to solve some riddle with the tree's sparse branches. Alpha, good-natured as she was, raised her hands up in defeat, still sporting a smile on her face. She moved to grab Suzuha as she leapt down, but the girl in question was caught off-guard enough that she backed away, leaving her stranded in the tree.

"Suzuha-chan! I'll catch you!" Delta cried, panicked. She held her arms out widely. But Suzuha was afraid. What if they didn't catch her? What would happen if she hit the ground instead? Would mom and dad get mad at her and make her stop spending time with them? They were the only three people in the world that she felt were like real sisters, even if they weren't related at all.

And then, suddenly, she was falling. As gravity tugged her down, she saw the three all grow surprised looks that turned into panic just as fast. Delta's form seemed to flicker as Suzuha fell head-first toward her. And...

_Smack!_

They collided, finally garnering the attention of the previously busy adults. Her mom and dad rushed out first, asking her if she was alright and what happened, which she answered as well as she could. She moved over to let Delta, who'd been underneath her, get up, Suzuha asking her if _she_ was hurt as well. Delta just laughed and said that of course she wasn't hurt - she _couldn't_ be hurt. Uncle Okarin took note of the conversation and stared at Suzuha, like he was trying to look through her eyes and into her brain. Then, he spoke just a few words.

"Wasn't there someone just here?" he asked. The other adults seemed to realize what those cryptic words meant, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it looked like there was a person out here just a moment ago. Judging by the clothes, it seemed like a girl," Aunt Kurisu supplied. Suzuha just forced a laugh as that feeling of wrongness came back.

"That was only Delta! She was trying to catch me." But that just made their expressions darken. Did they... see her? Even as she waved good-bye to Uncle Okarin and Aunt Kurisu, she didn't get her answer. She would only get some kind of response later that night while she drifted between sleep and wakefulness, catching bits and pieces of an exchange.

"... didn't think... see us."

"... talked to Delta... to know what happened either."

"... need to be careful. We don't... our existences here... it could get worse. Let's... precautions around Okabe Rintarou. He can't know."

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to do something inspired by, I believe, that dating sim spin-off of Steins;Gate for... a few years I think now. And here it is ^^ If you're confused, good! I took a lot of inspiration from certain events that happen to Suzuha in the story as the basis behind this little one-shot's concept. So, if you want to check it out, it may make more sense ;3  
> I kinda want to make a multi-chapter fic about this, but with how many I already have going on and my underdeveloped ideas for it, I think I'll wait for now. I hope you enjoyed this, at least!


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